Of Beds and Magnets
by graywords-girl
Summary: The old cliche, 'Opposites attract' had nothing on them': Jack muses on his current relationship. JackChloe. Oneshotdrabbleish...


**Of Beds and Magnets

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Pairing: Jack/Chloe

**Disclaimer:** Okay, look: If I owned ANY part of 24, at this point all the terrorists would be dead and the rest of the episodes would involve lots and lots of J/C smut and fluffy goodness, got it? …No, I don't own it.

_Author's Notes: There is no real time frame mentioned here, but there is mention of Bill Buchanan, so lets just assume that this is post season 5 and Jack's back, working for CTU. Oh yes, and this also mentions J/C being in an already established relationship. And don't ask about the title.

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They were opposites. Complete, polar opposites. Night and day, fire and water; nothing in common between them. And yet, somehow, they managed to fit together snug, like it was supposed to be that way. Which Jack thought was nothing if not laughable. In fact, he was surprised they hadn't killed each other yet, due to their differences (which seemed to be miles thick). But, no, somehow they managed to work around their differing traits and form what was probably the most solid relationship he'd ever been in.

The old cliché, "opposites attract" had nothing on them. Their attraction was cherry-rigged; something he'd been waiting to fail since the beginning. In a lot of ways, they were like a set of confused magnets. (His shrink had given him an odd look when he had mentioned _that _analogy.) Constantly trying to repel the other by switching polarities- switching tactics- that they ended up changing together and pulling the other closer. It was almost comical.

But he worried about it too. Things never went smoothing around him: there was always some danger, some tragedy. He was afraid of smothering her. Chloe had a certain light to her that she tried to hide behind walls of sarcasm and blunt honesty. It worked on a lot of people they knew, kept them away, always at arm's distance, but not on him. It had never worked on him. That light always shined through in his eyes, constantly fighting off his darkness.

Teri had held a light like hers, but Teri's had been more nurturing, more practiced. Chloe's was… damn, he couldn't really think of a way to describe it. Pure, innocent, untainted. And he was afraid that he would kill that light. Teri's had dimmed down to nothing but a few embers that had remained burning simply for the benefit of Kim. He didn't want that to happen to Chloe.

But, still, he couldn't deny that he was attracted to her. He wondered sometimes if her magnet was stronger than his; no matter how hard he tried to escape, to pull away, he was always yanked right back. He also wondered if she knew the effect she had on him; how strong he felt the pull to be near, to shield and protect her. It had been a long time since he'd felt that strong towards someone.

He played with the idea, more than once, that she knew exactly how she affected him, and played dumb on purpose, but that thought was tossed aside. He couldn't believe that she was _that_ manipulative.

_Speak of the devil_, he thought, just as she knocked on his office door. He waved her in and glanced outside, noting that they were the last on shift, as usual. She moved inside, and he noticed the difference in her almost immediately. She lacked the usual shaky nervousness she held when around everyone else: the constant fear she was going to screw up, or make a wrong move. But then again, she was like that: worried around other people, but completely comfortable when it was only them. Her steps were long and confident, something he wished she could portray normally.

"How's it running?" she asked, and he searched his mind for her meaning. It snapped into place quietly: she had done some work on his computer a few hours ago, after it had crashed for the eighth time in a row.

"Oh, fine." He gave an assuring nod, and she smiled, and there went that light again: lit up like a bulb and nearly blinded him. Apparently it was contagious, too, because he found himself smiling back before he could stop it.

"Can I…?" she pointed at the computer, and he pushed away from it, giving her room to squeeze in and play with her toys. She wasted no time in plopping down right on top of him and getting to work, which, in a lot of ways surprised him, but in others didn't in the least. This was Chloe, after all.

A minute passed, and she decided there was something she wanted to say, but hesitated, and there was a flash of her usual insecurity. She worked passed it quickly, "What were you thinking about?"

His mind was somewhat murky from a mixture of exhaustion and how close she was, so it wasn't surprising that his answer was a very intelligent "Huh?"

She didn't seem to mind his lack of focus as she pounded away on his keyboard. "Just now; you seemed pretty into your thoughts…"

"Oh," he took a minute to wrap his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched his screen flash between several windows as she worked. "About us."

Her hands faltered on the keys, briefly. "'Us'?" she echoed, and he nodded. He felt her stiffen slightly.

"Don't worry," he assured softly. "Nothing bad."

He felt her smile, and then his computer screen went black and she stood, casting a glance at his clock before suppressing a yawn. He chuckled and stood as well, grabbing his coat off the back of his chair, where he had tossed it earlier. As he locked up his office, she waited, patiently, her bag already slung over her shoulder. And then they walked out together, his hand falling to the small of her back.

It was another quirk of their relationship: for the most part, they didn't have to worry about other people butting in. They always had a professional air during their work shifts, but after shift no one really paid attention. Occasionally one of the interns would stare at them if they left, as did sometimes, arm in arm, but other than that, no one had a real issue.

In fact, the people at CTU seemed to understand better than any other workplace would have. Bill Buchanan had caught them several times, just at the end of shift, usually after 'one of those days' when they both needed the comfort of the other's presence, in a somewhat compromising position, but each time he simply gave them a knowing smile and told them to move it somewhere more private. Not once did the older man lay judgment on them (though he did tease Chloe every once in a while about it.)

They made their way out towards Jack's car, and he noticed that Chloe looked about dead on her feet. Understandable, considering the fact that all day she'd been fighting with a nasty virus that had infected several of the networks. In fact, she looked like she would have fallen asleep standing if he wasn't guiding her at that point. The thought made him chuckle softly.

It didn't take long to reach his home; traffic wasn't that bad, no real accidents, no major jams. It still, however, was a long enough trip that Chloe had dozed off, her forehead resting against the cool glass window. When they finally did arrive, coasting to a stop in front of his house, he was reluctant to wake her. It was always rare to see her relaxed and happy in normal context; to wake her now seemed like a crime. Still, he couldn't leave her in the car.

Gingerly, he reached over and tapped her shoulder. She stirred, and for a moment just sat there blinking tiredly. Finally, she yawned and scrubbed her face with her hands. "Jack?" she muttered tiredly. "Where are we?"

He smiled gently and popped his door open. "Home. Come on," he met her on the other side of the car and helped her stumble inside, where she kicked off her shoes at the door and waited for him. At that point, the couch was looking _very_ comfortable, and she was tempted to just collapse there and not bother trying to make it to the bedroom. Jack, however, wouldn't have it, and quickly gathered her up in his arms and carried her. Ordinarily, she would have protested; she was never one to enjoy being 'swept off her feet', but at that point, she was just too damn tired to care.

She was asleep before they reached the bed.

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_Author's Notes: There was ultimately no real point in writing that. Really, there wasn't. I just sat down and attacked my keyboard and said, real loud, "Make words!" and I did. I suppose, if someone wanted to look deeper into it than was intended, they could probably see this as a semi-observation on Jack and Chloe's relationship… I guess… but I had no real intention when writing it._

**Please Review** _cause it makes me a happy camper. (And I hate camping…)

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